Abstract: The San José State University Faculty Papers of H. Brett Melendy, 1928-1985 (bulk 1955-1985), consists of materials collected
by H. Brett Melendy while serving as the University Archivist (1983-1987). The records consist of academic journals, newspaper
clippings, photographs and typed and handwritten papers. This collection is arranged into nine series: Series I. Academic
Departments, 1957, 1970-1983; Series II. Academic Senate & the Economics Department, 1970-1978; Series III. Business Affairs,
1931-1979; Series IV. California Departments of Controller, Auditor, Education & Finance, 1929-1973; Series V. California
Pioneer Contest & History Department Student Papers, 1958-1975; Series VI. Faculty Papers, 1928-1985; Series VII. Miscellaneous
University Groups, 1971-1984; Series VIII. Ombudsman, 1967-1970; and Series IX. United Professors of California, 1971-1982.

Physical location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English

Access Restrictions

Specific folders in boxes 3, 27, 28, 42, 46, 47, & 50 are restricted.

Publication Rights

Copyright is assigned to the San José State University Library Special Collections &
Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to
the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Special Collections
& Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the
copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader. Copyright restrictions also apply to digital
reproductions of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.

Preferred Citation

San José State University Faculty Papers of H. Brett Melendy, MSS-2009-05-01, San José State University Library Special Collections
& Archives.

Project Information

This finding aid was created as part of the Survey and Cataloging Project, a two-year San José State University Library grant
project funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The project began in 2008.The Project Director
is Danelle Moon. The Project Archivist is Erin Louthen.

In 1857 the San Francisco Board of Education established Minns' Evening Normal School for current and prospective teachers
in the city. Named after its principal, George W. Minns, the institution was formally established as the first California
State Normal School by the State Legislature in 1862. A decade later, the Legislature voted to move the Normal School to San
José, and the school relocated to its new home on Washington Square prior to the fall term of 1872. After a fire destroyed
the Normal School building in 1880, the Legislature authorized $ 200,000 to construct a new building on the same site. Completed
in 1881, the building was commonly referred to as the Second State Normal School. After several names and curriculum changes,
Minns' Normal School is now San José State University, offering more than 134 bachelor's and master's degrees with 110 concentrations,
and is recognized as one of the top public universities granting such degrees in the West.

Born in Eureka, California, H. Brett Melendy (1924-2008) spent most of his life in California and Hawaii. He received his
Master of Arts in Education in 1948 and his Doctorate in History in 1952 from Stanford University. During this time, he also
taught high school in Fresno, California. Melendy began his university academic career as a history professor at SJSU in 1955.
He served in several positions while at San José State University including: Academic Council Faculty Chair; Associate Academic
Vice President; Dean of Undergraduate Studies; History Department Chair; History Professor; Interim Academic Vice President;
and University Archivist. Melendy also spent some of his academic career as an administrator and history professor in the
Hawaiian University system in the 1970s. His written work includes the books
Chinese and Japanese Americans;
Asians in America: Filipinos, Koreans, and East Indians; co-author of
The Governors of California: Peter H. Burnett to Edmund G. Brown, as well as numerous scholarly articles.

In addition, Melendy conducted oral history interviews of select San José State University administrators and faculty from
1983 to 1988.
Melendy served as the University Archivist from 1983-1987 on a half-time basis, while also maintaining half-time responsibilities
as the Director of the Engineering Institute in the Engineering Department. In 1987 the University Archivist position was
eliminated by Academic Vice President Arlene Okerlund. From 1987 to 1994, Melendy continued to work in the History and Engineering
Departments, and in 1993 he was awarded Professor Emeritus status.

Bibliography

Gilbert, Benjamin F., and Burdick, Charles.
Washington Square, 1857-1979: The History of San José State University. San José, California: San José State University, 1980.

Melendy, H. Brett.
Howard Brett Melendy, Professor of History and Past Chairman of the History Department, Academic Council Faculty Chairman,
Interim Academic Vice President, Associate Academic Vice President, and University Archivist, San José State University, 1955-1970;
1979-Present: An Oral History.
San José, California: San José, 1988.
Oral history interviews of the San José State University Oral History Project, 2005-2006, Collection No. MSS-2006-04-01. San
José State University Archives Collection.

Wright, Milburn.
Milburn D. Wright, Dean of the School of Business 1956-1974, Professor of Business 1939-1956, San José State University: An
Oral History.
San José, California: San José, 1984.

Scope and Content

The San José State University Faculty Papers of H. Brett Melendy, 1928-1985 (bulk 1955-1985), document Melendy's long-term
tenure at San José State University and specifically his work as the University Archivist from 1983-1987. The records consist
of academic journals, newspaper clippings, photographs, typed and handwritten papers, statistical reports and audits. In addition
to papers gathered from other staff and faculty, Melendy's personal papers are also included. The collection also documents
several lawsuits filed against the university by faculty, as well as the business of the faculty union, the United Professors
of California.